Spot Goes to Hollywood (Genesis) review

"Remember Spot?? If you don't, then you must surely have heard of 7-up. Anyways, Spot is a kind of mascot for 7-up, and he featured in a few games in the mid-nineties (this particular example coming out in 1995). If you haven't heard of 7-up, then you may as well go read some other review - things aren't gonna get much better.
"

Remember Spot?? If you don't, then you must surely have heard of 7-up. Anyways, Spot is a kind of mascot for 7-up, and he featured in a few games in the mid-nineties (this particular example coming out in 1995). If you haven't heard of 7-up, then you may as well go read some other review - things aren't gonna get much better.

First off, the blurb on the back of the box doesn't set a very good impression. The statement 'Screenshots may come from a different version of the game' does not bode well - you may well wonder what exactly is wrong with the screenshots from the version you have just purchased. This puzzles me too, to be honest with you, as the graphics in SGTH are first rate (more on that later), but once you open the box up and place the cartridge in your Mega Drive things start to look up.

Gameplay is similar to the more commercially well-known Sonic 3D: the isometric view is the same, and you have to collect enough items to open the exit (in this case it's big red spots - this whole game is like a pubescent teen's nightmare), although this game didn't make me feel seasick, which (embarrassingly enough) Sonic's outing did. There are thirteen levels in the game, spread across four worlds: three stages per world and then a final stage. In each world the levels can be played in whatever order you wish, although the boss is always waiting at the end of level three, regardless of whether you play this stage first or last.... Each level involves finding the spots, shooting enemies, running, jumping, and a fair amount of exploring too - many of the levels have hidden nooks and crannies that are quite difficult to uncover, which gives the game a fair amount of replay value. Each world is themed around a different genre of film, so we shiver our timbers on the Pirate stages, explore a haunted mansion in the horror stages (although this is no Resi), get all Indiana in the adventure stages before going back to the future (well, to the future anyway) for the sci-fi stages, before the final stage takes us.... well you'll just have to see for yourselves. The game isn't really difficult, and most gamers could finish it in one sitting, although there is a password feature just in case, but the exploration aspect means that you'll probably come back for more on a fairly regular basis.

The graphics and sound are really quite impressive for the Mega Drive, and you get the impression that the 16-bit black wonder is running fairly close to it's maximum (although it has been surpassed by games such as Ballz and Vectorman). The graphics are colourful and solid, and the tunes are pleasingly hummable, and the animation is smooth and near-flawless. With no real complaints to make there isn't much to say in this section, so I'll move along.

The control is responsive enough in general, although occasionally it gets difficult to control where the lil' red geezer goes on the platform sections, due partly to the isometric view. However, this is a complaint among most games with this graphical style (see also: Sonic 3D and Landstalker), so I'll just put that down to a quirk of the genre rather than a fault with the game itself. I'm nice like that, y'see......

Spot Goes To Hollywood is effortlessly enjoyable (once you get over the fact that in essence you are playing a 7-up commercial...). It may be short lived and fairly easy, but the fact that you still want another go to make sure you've seen all there is to offer means that you may as well just buy it. Despite a suspect box this game really is a top quality title, and I don't really know why it wasn't more popular. Now if you'll excuse me, I suddenly have an urge for a certain popular soft drink.....

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